1 blockbuster trade all 32 NFL teams can make to improve in 2024

New Orleans Saints trade for Mac Jones

Thinking about the New Orleans Saints salary cap numbers gives me a headache. New Orleans doesn't just play with fire when it comes to managing the cap, they walk naked over hot coals with dynamite strapped to their chest, yet somehow, their win-now spending has only resulted in a middling roster that couldn't even prevail over a very mediocre NFC South.

The Saints need to make moves to save money, while building for contention in a couple of years. Derek Carr is entrenched as the team's starting quarterback, not so much because of his play, but because his contract is so onerous. The Saints have just restructured Carr's deal to spread his cap hit out further into the future, which helps them now, though they still have a long way to go to get in the black. Next year and the year after? Good luck with that, buddy.

One way to get even closer to financial freedom could be moving on from Alvin Kamara, which would save the team nearly $12 million this year. A straight-up trade of Kamara for Mac Jones would cause fantasy football players around the country to howl in horror, but it makes sense for both teams. The New England Patriots can move on from a quarterback that has regressed after a solid rookie year (clearing the path for Jayden Daniels or another rookie to take over), while adding a multi-talented running back that can instantly improve its league-worst offense, which currently features the oft-injured Rhamondre Stevenson and the aging Ezekiel Elliott.

New Orleans could talk itself into the fact that Jones was good in his first year, then got ruined through crummy coaching (Matt Patricia, offensive coordinator still doesn't sound right) in the years since. General manager Mickey Loomis can inch the Saints closer to cap normalcy, while letting Jones sit behind Carr for a year or two with the idea of possibly taking over one day.